Hello
My name is Menno and I am from the Netherlands.
Using SiriL 0.99.6 for a few months now but only for image processing sofar … and that rocks!
But I also want to try stacking with it and that really is not working … well, more specifically: I can not work with it. I am used to working with Deep Sky Stacker on FITS files captured with SharpCap with a Zwo ASI camera. That together with dark, flat and darkflat FITS calibration files.
And now I did try stacking with SiriL but the whole workflow is alien to me. I just don’t understand how to stack with SiriL, it’s totally non-intuitive for me. For example, I have saved FITS files but I must convert those first to FIT? Or not?
I did try a video manual but got totally stuck with it. And my working directory was flooded with so many (duplicate) files and other files.
So, if anyone can point me to a simple, clear “Stacking with SiriL for Dummies”, that would be much appreciated
Hi Menno, that’s indeed something we need to work on. We have planned to make a nice documentation for the upcoming 1.0 version, but it’s not yet available or translated, you can still look at the last documentation and the videos on youtube of siril.
We are lucky that several users helped us with this task and created tutorials:
Thanks for the links Vincent. I did found these on the SiriL page but it did not help for me. https://pixls.us/articles/processing-a-nightscape-in-siril/ for example is well written but still very confusing. Partly because of me: I really am used to programs like DeepSkyStacker which is pretty straight forward and logical to me but I tried other programs like PixInsight and I really can’t work with that.
But can I see that tutorial as a typical SiriL workflow? Having to convert all my FITS files for example?
This tutorial shows the manual operation of siril. You can also use scripts to process images and in that case you just have to put your images in well named directories and siril does all by itself, that’s the easier way of beginning with siril. Siril does not need to convert FITS files because it can work with it natively, but the naming of these files has to be consistent to find them in a directory, that’s why a conversion operation may be required, but it’s actually a renaming.
I did try the scripts but getting a whole bunch of errors with for example about no bias or something like that. But I’m totally not a scripts or command line guy anyway, so that’s on me.
My FITS files are named in sequence, but SiriL is not detecting them. Even when renamed to a simple 1,2,3,4 … sequence, it is not recognized and a conversion must be done?
But I will investigate some more. I did translate those 2 sites you mentioned and will check those and see if it clarifies some more.
Thanks again
you may also need to change the FITS file extension used by siril, the default being .fit, see the preferences, misc section.
If your files are .fits it will not detect the sequence by default.
@lock042 Okay, so only very simple numeric sequences at the end of a filename are detected, no timestamps of the FITS itself are used?
@vinvin Thanks. Just did see that few minutes ago in the Console part where there was a mention of that. I don’t use that Console part because the lettertype is really unclear and the font size small.
Timestamps are stored inside the FITS file, the name is not important.
The conversion operation will also rename the files for you if you have dates in file names.
I did mean for the Sequence build: there only simple numeric values at the end of a filename can be used and the time stamps are not used. But in SharpCap I can set it to save it in the format .fits and SiriL has no problem with building a sequence from the index numbers
Okay, enough info now to play with this … when the fog, clouds, winds, rain and other fluffy terrors are gone that is …
Well, did try some things with stacking but I find it very confusing with SiriL. Took me a while to understand that the program ONLY works with specific named directories? This calls for a lot of file movement? Or Do I miss something?
Also, Bias is mentioned. I don’t have those but I have DarkFlats. Do I use those in the Bias part?
Thanks again
Now I understand it even less Not being negative about SiriL but the whole stacking part of SiriL is totally non-intuitive for me, I really don’t know what to do and what not to do …
But I’ll wait for a manual. For now I’ll use SiriL for processing only, that is working just great
You have our YouTube channel with a lot of video that can explain to you what you want.
The siril workflow is the same as the astrophotography workflow. Maybe you need first to understand how does work astrophotography processing.
Yes, I did see the YouTube channel and other sources. But still SiriL is hard to grasp for me.
And although I am a semi-beginner, I do understand astrophotography, I am doing unguided 8" f/10 180 second captures there where others only can do that with guiding. See for example https://i.imgur.com/PbCGqjg.jpg or https://i.imgur.com/Jynq5CW.jpg
Granted, I never used Bias calibration files but those are not used with modern dedicated astro cameras like Zwo. That’s a part of my not understanding stacking with SiriL I guess: there is no mention of DarkFlats for example.
All I am saying is that I am confused by the design, GUI, steps or whatever in SiriL but that is purely personal. A program like Deep Sky Stacker feels “natural” and logical for me, don’t ask me why But I am trying also other things, in this case SiriL and trying to understand it’s workings and features. A lot of programs have different kind of approaches of the same workflow and SiriL certainly is one of those with it’s own approach. That’s not a negative thing, it’s just an observation
Load a sequence of flat and subtract master dark. That’s all.
DeepSkyStacker is all automatic and that can be great: there is nothing to learn about it. You just have to load files, even if you don’t know nothing about astrophotography. But the down side is that you have zero control on what you do.
The siril approach is either you have scripts to automate your workflow, and you can build your own scripts, or you do it manually. You want to remove darkflat? No problem. Remove it you have the tool for that, as I said above.
There where you mention “That’s all” and “No problem” is for me a big question mark on where and how to do that in SiriL.
I’ll wait for the manual/tutorial, otherwise this thread can get very long.
Thanks.
That really helped me get started with Siril (and processing in general). Just drag the right files into their proper places in the Files tab, go to the Properties tab and view the various checkboxes and drop-downs. Most of them default to a setting that will produce reasonable results - though they all start with “offset subtract” unchecked - check that if you want to use bias frames (I know you are not, but some other beginner will eventually read this thread), then go to the Process tab for a nice visualization of what scripts Sirilic will generate.
Starting there helped my get passable results without actually knowing much of anything, which allowed me to gradually learn more and more about both the general topic of image processing and the specifics of how to get Siril to do what I want (still a long way to go!).
